What is Active Network?Active Network is a technology and media company that helps millions of people find and register for things to do and helps organisations increase participation in theirevents and activities.

The Top 10 Benefits of Online Registration for You and Your Participants

Gone are the days of long registration queues and paper forms to sign up for an endurance event. An increasing number of event directors from both large and small events are embracing online registration services as an added-value for both them and their participants. Online registration not only improves efficiencies and eliminates unnecessary paperwork, it also maximises participation and improves marketing capabilities while allowing participants to sign up when and where it is most convenient for them from any Internet-enabled computer.

The benefits of taking online registration for an endurance event are, in fact, so varied, that we will enumerate only the Top 10 for the event organiser and participant:

For Organisers

For Participants

1

Save time – opening, entering and sorting out illegible or inaccurate forms can be very time consuming, so just by eliminating these processes off your duties you are set to get at least 4 less administrative work hours per week

Save time – Participants can sign up online when and where is most convenient for them in just a few minutes without having to print, manually fill out and send paper forms

2

Free Online registration - you can pass the small registration fee to your participant, half the fee between you and the participant, or pay the small fee yourself

Improved customer support – your online registration provider will ensure you have all the necessary information to answer immediately to any of the payment related questions a participant might have

Securely and conveniently pay online –instead of writing a cheque or counting cash at the front line, participants can simply enter their credit card details online to securely complete their transaction in seconds

Receive automated confirmation receipt – Once the payment is processed, participants will then receive a receipt confirming they are signed up for their desired event and their payment has been securely processed and accepted

5

Improve event efficiency – the time and money saved on data entry administrative tasks can be used for better the event, contact more sponsors, prepare more activities, reply faster to participants

Access to early bird pricing – with flexible pricing options, participants can now be incentivised and rewarded with a discount if they sign up by a specific date

6

Customised online registration – a good online registration provider will permit full customisation of your event registration page to the look and feel you want to give it

Access to discounts – event organisers can offer discount codes to potential participants to incentivise them to join the event, hence participants are far more likely to enjoy discounts through this payment method

7

Detailed reporting – The system should provide an insightful reporting into payments received and due, refunds given, multi-event analysis and all other reporting tools essential to efficiently manage a successful event

Receive e-mails and notifications - Participant gets the ability to be informed straight to their inbox whenever a new event of their interest is launched, without having to look for it.

8

Improve marketing efforts – with the ability to e-mail the database via a central management system, organisers will not only notify participants of future events, but also track their open rates and response

Enter multiple and team registrations – via online registration, participants have the ability to enter multiple events without re-entering the same fields more than once and can register their whole team in one go

Easy fundraising set-up – Ability to immediately create a fundraising page upon registration to help the participant set up its fundraising goals and distribute it to its whole online network

10

Set up online surveys – to get to know better your participants interests and measure your participants experience at the event, a good online registration system will also integrate an online survey tool

Register for a training plan – good sports specific online registration systems will also provide the participant with the ability to sign up for a customised training plan to set their endurance prepared for the event day

As you are evaluating online sports registration providers you will want to ensure that your selected partner can make the above added benefits available to you and your participant as part of the online registration service. Perhaps most important to your evaluation is to understand the security measures each online registration provider employs. Make sure the company utilises the strictest industry security settings, technologies and firewall measures to ensure your participants’ personal information and your stored data is always protected from thief corruption and power outages.

Active Network is a technology and media company that helps millions of people find and register for things to do and helps organisations increase participation in their events and activities.